I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.
The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis. I’ve never ventured far from Narnia when it comes to Clive Staples Lewis. A dabble in a Screwtape letter here and a jaunt through Mere Christianity there is about as far as I’ve gone. I can now add The Weight of Glory to my woefully small list of Lewis reads. TWG is a collection of nine sermons Lewis delivered during the World War II years in Britain. I’m sure it will be sacrilege to many for me to say, but in these addresses I find Lewis often dwelling in ho hum banter only occasionally breaking out with a brilliant insight like, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.” If you read only one address I’d stick to “The Inner Ring,” for here sheer brilliance reigns from start to finish.
Look and Live: Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ by Matt Papa. To hear Papa sing or speak is to feel something of the earnestness of John the Baptist. At least that’s my experience. Papa is in love with Christ and is passionate in his appeal for others to join in on the glory. These traits, and many more, are available for all to see in Papa’s excellent book Look and Live. He is spot on to say, “We don’t need more willpower. We don’t need to get ourselves together. We need a greater thrill . . . a more captivating beauty. What we need is a vision of God. We need to see glory.” Drawing on many mighty men of old and the modern twin towers of Piper and Keller, Papa shows how a glorious vision of Christ helps us slay sin, preach the gospel, and live courageously in the world. If the book has any downfall it’s that Papa’s thoughts often come out as individual exhortations (i.e. he writes a lot of one line paragraphs), instead of developed arguments and declarations. But that does remind you a bit of the Baptist doesn’t it? Pick up a copy of this fine book and thrill yourself with the greatness of Christ.
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette by Hampton Sides. My wife got me Sides’ latest for Christmas and I went into it with a sense of frigid expectation. Thoughts of arctic expeditions in our modern time are enough to chill the bones, let alone an expedition that set sail in 1879. Furthermore, the book’s subtitle demands the reader steel his gaze from the outset lest he be unduly disappointed. The Jeanette‘s journey to the North Pole captured our nation’s attention in the late 1800s and for good measure: no one really knew what lay up in the cold dome. A lost civilization? An open polar sea? A paradoxically warm climate? Or just loads of ice? The story of Captain De Long’s men is one Sides is perfectly suited to tell and my, my does he tell it well. The pages turn quickly in this one; fascination, elation, and trepidation await. And yes, they come in that order.
The Expats by Chris Pavone. Evidently Pavone made the change from editing cookbooks and garden tomes to writing spy novels with the publication of The Expats. This fun read centers on Kate Moore, a former CIA operative who is relegated to domestic duty at home when her husband takes a new job in Luxembourg. Soon enough Kate’s covert tendencies involuntarily take over when as she begins to doubt the veracity of her husband, her friends, and—well, just about everyone. Pavone’s book, while thoroughly enjoyable, does recede into the ridiculous at times in the elements of espionage Kate employs. But Pavone redeems the silliness by saving his best for the end. The book’s final chapters are mesmerizingly constructed and make one eager for what the author might cook up next.
Click here to find other entries in the Recent Reads series.